Credit cards are a relatively new invention, which first came to use in the 1950s. While customer cards, the predecessors of modern credit cards, were used as early as the 19th century, the plastic cards we know today were introduced in the late 50s, and were started by the Diner’s Club. The earliest credit card logos were printed all over the card, which was usually made from cardboard or celluloid.
The first credit card as we know it (meaning it’s made from plastic) was made in 1959 by American Express. It wasn’t exactly a credit card, as it was only available for use in stores that had a connection to banks related to American Express. Only almost ten years after, in 1966, came Bank of America with an all-round use credit card, the BankAmericard, which was later renamed Visa. The credit card logo of BankAmericard wasn’t too different from American Express, as it had Bank of America’s logo printed all over the front side, too.
The same year, through cooperation of numerous banks, the MasterCharge program was born, and renamed to MasterCard thirteen years later, in 1979. While Bank of America had a similar credit card at the same time, banks were forced to choose one of them, because of the respective companies’ contracts. The famous MasterCharge credit card logo featured what would be the well-known two circles, albeit the design changed only after a decade.
Nowadays, other credit cards exist too. Albeit most of the market is covered by MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover card, which was introduced during the in 1986, other sorts of credit cards do exist. They have a somewhat local nature though. Modern features, such as online payment methods and design features like having custom credit card logos, are slowly becoming more and more prominent and replace the old standard cards.
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